Filed to story: Falling for My Ex's Mafia Dad Novel Free PDF (Fay Alden & Kent Lippert)
“It’s not your fault,” Daniel says, pursing his lips. “I…I get it.”
“You shouldn’t have to get it, kid,” Kent says, raising his eyebrows. “It was my job. I should have been a better dad.”
“Well, you’ve got another chance now,” Daniel says, raising his brows at his dad and giving him a little smile. “With the new baby.”
“To fuck it up in all new ways,” Kent groans, tilting his head back and letting out yet another deep sigh.
Kent feels a touch on his knee and brings his head back up, surprised to see Daniel leaning forward. “You didn’t fuck it up, dad,” Daniel says softly. “You did your best. We all have regrets. I forgive you for it.”
The words…they pierce Kent in a way he didn’t think was possible. And despite desperately clenching his jaw, the tears fill his eyes anyway. But Kent forces himself to unclench his jaw and lets the tears flow just a little bit, not too much. Just a couple, to loosen the pressure.
“All right,” Daniel says, laughing a little and leaning back in his chair as he shakes his head in awe. “I think that’s enough therapy for one day. Seriously, I don’t think I’ve ever seen you cry not once in my life.”
“Well, don’t get used to it,” Kent mutters, wiping at his face. But then he looks seriously at his son. “But I’m glad we talked. That we can do more of.”
Seriously Daniel nods, raising his glass. “To more chats, and less tears.”
Smiling, Kent raises his and clinks it with his sons. Then he shakes out his shoulders and inhales deeply, pleased to be on steadier ground with his kid, who he really does love so, so much more than Daniel can guess.
Still.
He needs a break.
And maybe a bit of a laugh.
“So,” Kent says, smirking a little. “Which pirate had you glued to the screen, Orlando Bloom or Johnny Depp?”
“Nope!” Daniel says, turning beet read and laughing anxiously. “None of this!”
“Come on, Daniel,” Kent says, leaning forward and grinning, teasing. “We’re close now, we’re open with our emotional lives, like the Thompsons are. We have these chats!”
“We do not!”
“Fine,” Kent says, laughing and getting to his feet. “I’ll make Fay ask, and then she’ll tell me.”
“That works!” Daniel says, pouring himself more whiskey. “I think you and I…we might still need a Fay buffer on some subjects.”
“A role I’m sure she’ll be glad to play,” Kent says, turning for the door and waving over his shoulder. “Love you, kid! Good chat!”
“Good chat, dad,” Daniel says back, a happy smile on his lips. “Love you too.”
Kent wonders if he’s hit his two-hour limit as he works his way back to his cabin, blinking a little to clear his head from all the whiskey. Honestly, he had more to drink than he thought he did. But…well, considering that there’s nothing else to do all day besides lay in bed with his gorgeous girl…
Kent smirks to himself, thinking it’s not so bad.
“Ohhh,” he hears someone say, and looks up to see Janeen smiling wickedly at him as she comes down the hall in the opposite direction. “Are we day drinking?” she asks, eager. “Did I miss it?”
“Daniel’s still going,” Kent says, pointing down the hall towards the dining room. “Though I am tapping out.”
“What a baby,” Janeen sighs, and Kent laughs, shaking his head. This girl she’s got guts, that’s for sure. He supposes he knows now know where Fay got it from. Kent gives Janeen a little wave and continues on his way down the hall.
“She’s upset, you know,” Janeen calls, and Kent turns back towards her with a frown.
“What?” he asks.
“Fay,” Janeen says, lifting her chin towards the cabin door. “She had a fight with Jerome. I don’t think it’s a big deal, just…warning you before you go in. She’s all worked up about it.”
Kent nods, grateful for the advice and waves to Janeen again as he continues towards the door. What on earth could this be about? Fay and Jerome they’re tight. Hell, Jerome’s the first person Fay told she was pregnant.
When Kent presses the door open, his heart sinks to see her curled up on the bed, blankets wrapped around her even though the room isn’t cold.
“What happened?” Kent asks, shutting the door behind him and slipping his hands into his pockets, not wanting to move to the bed just yet if he has to leave the room to go punch someone.
Fay looks up at him with sad eyes. “How did you know?”
“I’m psychic,” he murmurs, not bothering to go into the details of meeting Janeen in the hall, knowing it will just be a distraction. It’s not important how he knows he wants answers.
Fay studies him for a moment and then a tiny smile finds her lips. “You’re not psychic,” she says slowly, “you’re drunk.”
Kent laughs at that, unable to help it, hanging his head a little. “I’m not drunk. I don’t get drunk.”
“Come here,” she says, holding out her hands and he goes to her then, sitting on the bed. She takes his face in her hands and studies him. “Okay, now breathe on me, just a little bit ”
“What!?” he says, shocked, flinching back. “Fay I’m not going to breathe on you ”
“Oh, come on,” she moans, slumping a little. “I miss the way it smells and could seriously use a drink right now I don’t get to have one for like five more months at least ”
Kent mutters something about her being ridiculous and crawls across the bed to his side, leaning against the pillows and wrapping an arm around her waist to pull her tight against him.
“Tell me,” he orders, kissing her head and then taking a deep sniff of her hair, smiling at the familiar scent of her shampoo. God, he was gone for what, an hour? An hour and a half? And he had missed her. How had he survived two months?
But he’s distracted from the thought when Fay heaves a deep sigh. “I think we need to have a talk,” Kent,” she murmurs. “About Jerome.”
Kent nods slowly, looking down at me, but his face doesn’t register any surprise. “All right,” he says, his voice even. “Where do we begin?”
I frown at this, a little it’s almost as if he was expecting this.
“Why aren’t you more surprised by this?” I ask, pulling back a little. “Are you do you have reasons to want to have a talk about Jerome too?”
Kent sighs and rolls his eyes a little. “I don’t Jerome’s been nothing but loyal to me since the day I hired him. I just met Janeen in the hall on my way here she briefed me. Don’t read into it too much, Fay.”
“Oh,” I say, tilting my head to the side, relief running through me. Because the last the absolute last thing I want right now is to have any more reasons to suspect Jerome. But seriously the way Jerome responded to the idea that Ivan told me to be suspicious of him…
“What happened?” Kent asks seriously. Quickly, I tell him all of it about Ivan telling me to watch out for Jerome and then Jerome’s extreme reaction when I casually mentioned it. Kent listens carefully, his eyes on my face the whole time. I reach out and take his hand while I speak, inwardly a little pleased to see Kent slip into his boss role, assessing the situation.
It’s much sexier than he probably knows.
But, well. We have other things to concentrate on right now.
“Don’t you think, though?” I say, wrapping up. “That, I mean, if Jerome thought that it was ridiculous then wouldn’t he have just laughed it off? I mean, it’s Ivan of all people.”